Greetings!

Hi
Welcome to Morcan Books & Films, the blog devoted to providing a unique perspective and intelligent commentary on books and films. It includes commentary on our own books and films – i.e. novels and screenplays co-written by the Morcans, and feature films produced by, or in development with, Morcan Motion Pictures.
Lance & James

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Membership of our new discussion group Silent World on Goodreads.com is growing rapidly. Established as a place to discuss all the unique aspects of Deaf culture as highlighted in our new release thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes), it’s also a meeting place of sorts where Deaf and hearing people can engage and learn from each other.

In researching Silent Fear over many years, we discovered the Deaf community really is a unique and diverse global community. We trust the book, and the group it has inspired, will encourage members to share other books (and films) by or about the Deaf, and even inspire other storytellers to include Deaf characters in their works. (It has been our observation there is a dearth of Deaf characters in literature, cinema and television).

We also hope the Silent World group will eventually become an interactive discussion platform for the Deaf community, and encourage deeper engagement between Deaf (and hard of hearing) and hearing people.

The pre-Christmas giveaway of our new release thriller paperback Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) ends December 23 PST. It’s open to members of Goodreads.com – wherever in the world you are!

Be in to win paperback… Entries close soon.

Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the Deaf in London, England. The murder investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

Three Kindle copies of our new release thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) are on offer in a Christmas Crime Thriller Giveaway on Marie Lavender’s Writing in the Modern Age blog. Entries open now thru Dec. 4th.

Writing in the Modern Age was hatched from the idea that writers of all backgrounds and stages of their careers needed a safe haven of sorts, a place to come for advice and encouragement during their journeys. Over three years later, it has become so much more, embracing book lovers of any genre. Writing in the Modern Age is not only helpful for writers, but also readers who are searching for their favorite new author.

To visit the site go to: http://marielavender.blogspot.co.nz/ …It’s a must-visit for authors, readers and bookworms!

News Release: November 23, 2017 — New Zealand-based film production company Morcan Motion Pictures announced this week production of one of the films on its development slate received a boost with the successful international release of the crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes).

Book’s launch a success.

Co-authored by father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, Silent Fear has attracted critical acclaim since its launch as a paperback and Kindle ebook on Amazon.

Amazon Top 500 reviewer Susan Elliot describes it as “A riveting crime novel.” Elliot writes, “There is so much to like about this book: the plot, the pace and the characters all came together in the most riveting crime novel that I’ve read in a long time.” She warns readers, “Do not read it on a train. You may just miss your station.”

Amazon Australia Top 50 reviewer Todd Simpson describes Silent Fear as “Simply Splendid.” Simpson writes, “There is so much to love about this entertaining and well written murder mystery…Hands down this is a wonderful book, and well worth a read.”

The Morcans, who are adapting their novel to a feature film screenplay, added Silent Fear to their production company’s development slate several years ago.

A spokesperson for the company says development of the planned feature film was delayed to accommodate the release of the novel. “That proved to be a wise decision,” he says, “given the interest the book is now generating for the movie.”

Set in a university in London, Silent Fear was inspired by the true-life murders of students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s premiere learning institutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, in Washington, D.C. It was written under the guidance of Brent Macpherson, one of the world’s leading deaf storytellers working in film, television and other creative mediums. Macpherson is also co-producer on the film adaptation.

The premise of Silent Fear sees Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther being assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the deaf in the upmarket Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

A sequel is planned with more books in the series a possibility.

James Morcan says interest in the planned movie has already been received from film industry contacts. Speaking from Sydney, Australia, where he is based, he says the novel was crying out to be adapted because the storyline is very suited to the big screen.

“Silent Fear is a multi-genre story that has proven appeal to fans of the crime, mystery, thriller, horror, romance and sci-fi genres,” he says. “It’s exactly what movie-goers are looking for. However, we are under no illusions how difficult it is to greenlight movies so we will be aligning ourselves with a major producer to get it across the line.”

The Morcans invite expressions of interest from experienced producers.

Silent Fear is the Morcans’ eighth novel to be published under the Sterling Gate Books banner. Their other books include the international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy, and the historical adventures Into the Americas and White Spirit – both based on true stories – and Fiji.

Members of the deaf community resonate with the new release crime-thriller Silent Fear if the early reviews are any guide. Little wonder given the storyline, which is set in a university for the deaf in London, was inspired by the real-life murders of deaf students at Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C., and was written under the guidance of a deaf consultant.

Novel resonates with deaf community.

In her 5-Star review on Goodreads, deaf educator Megan Rang says as a teacher of the deaf, she looks for literature that accurately depicts deaf characters in deaf culture. Her review follows:

“This book was also a thriller and that is a genre I am drawn in by. With a serial killer AND a flu quarantine it makes for a lot happening.

“The characters in this story weren’t the type I would fall in love with and be rooting for throughout the book. Most seemed to have issues and that added to the suspense. I had read a review that said the reader was completely thrown off guard by the outcome of this book. With that in mind I started looking more deeply at the characters and had it all figured out minus the very final twist that you can’t see coming. It made for good reading.

“I have recommended and will continue to recommend this book to others. It was worth reading.”

Amazon reviewer J.D. Denness says, “It’s not often you come across a book featuring the deaf community and even rarer for the story to be based in a school for the deaf. For the last 16 years I’ve worked at a school for the deaf so I was very interested to see how the authors did portraying this unique community. They have done a very good job, their research has been thorough and the advice they got was spot on… All in all this a very good book, one of my top reads for 2017, it is well worth the time to read.”

In 2016, USAID (The United States Agency for International Development is the United States Government agency) reported that nearly 75 percent of all new, emerging, or re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the 21st century are zoonotic (i.e. originated in animals).

There is talk among the scientific community that in the near future, humanity may face another Spanish Flu-level pandemic (the Spanish Flu H1N1 influenza virus killed 50-100 million in 1918 and infected 500 million worldwide)…or even something more extreme that threatens humanity’s survival.

Besides the Spanish Flu, the more recent history of pandemics, including and especially the H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak in 2009, inspired our new release novel Silent Fear (which goes on sale on Halloween on October 31: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075HRYTVC/ ). We worked closely with a medical laboratory scientist/microbiologist to get all the medical aspects of the virus in our novel correct. And soon discovered microbiology is a fascinating, and sometimes scary, world underneath the surface…a place where viruses form at the micro level before sometimes spreading worldwide and threatening all of us.

On the TheBlackVault.com website, in an article headed ‘USAID’s Pandemic Influenza and Other Emerging Threats (PIOET) Program‘, they mention: “Notable reminders of how vulnerable the increasingly interconnected world is to the global impact of new emergent diseases include HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, and the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. The speed with which these diseases can emerge and spread presents serious public health, economic, and development concerns.”

The article continues, mentioning how USAID’s “Pandemic Influenza and Other Emerging Threats (PIOET) Unit supports two major lines of work: H5N1 Avian Influenza, and Emerging Pandemic Threats. H5N1 Avian Influenza: Since 2005, USAID has strengthened the capacities of more than 50 countries for monitoring the spread of H5N1 avian influenza among wild bird populations, domestic poultry, and humans, to mount a rapid and effective containment of the virus when it is found, and to help countries prepare operational capacities in the event a pandemic capable virus emerges.”

“This past year China had the largest outbreak of a deadly bird flu since the virus was first detected in March 2013.

For the past five years, China has had annual waves of H7N9 outbreaks that peak around January and February.

During the 2017 season, the country reported nearly the same number of cases as all four previous years combined, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Thursday. The virus cropped up in more geographic regions. And it showed signs of evolving in ways that cause concern.

As NPR reported in April, the virus has picked up mutations that make it more deadly in poultry and less susceptible to antiviral treatments. “Our research shows it can kill all the chickens in our lab within 24 hours,” virologist Guan Yi told NPR.

In people, H7N9 can cause a severe form of pneumonia and progress into septic shock and multiorgan failure. “We know of only a small number of people who presented with influenza-like symptoms and then recovered without medical attention,” the World Health Organization says.

During the 2017 outbreak, the Chinese government reported 759 cases of H7N9. There were 281 deaths — about a third of those infected. By comparison in 2016 and 2015, the country reported 123 and 226 cases, respectively.”

But wait, there’s more…Oh no!

CNN: The big one is coming, and it’s going to be a flu pandemic https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/04/07/health/flu-pandemic-sanjay-gupta/index.html

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent

Updated 12:00 PM EDT, Thu September 14, 2017

Article Excerpts:

“Unlike seasonal flu, pandemics occur when a completely new or novel virus emerges

Gupta: Developing and deploying a pandemic flu vaccine just 24 weeks faster, would save many lives

(CNN)Experts say we are “due” for one. When it happens, they tell us, it will probably have a greater impact on humanity than anything else currently happening in the world.

And yet, like with most people, it is probably something you haven’t spent much time thinking about. After all, it is human nature to avoid being consumed by hypotheticals until they are staring us squarely in the face.

Such is the case with a highly lethal flu pandemic. And when it comes, it will affect every human alive today.

Pandemic flu is apolitical and does not discriminate between rich and poor. Geographical boundaries are meaningless, and it can circle the globe within hours. In terms of potential impact on mankind, the only thing that comes close is climate change. And, like climate change, pandemic flu is so vast, it can be challenging to wrap your head around it.

When most people hear “flu,” they typically think of seasonal flu. No doubt, seasonal flu can be deadly, especially for the very young and old, as well as those with compromised immune systems.

For most people, however, the seasonal flu virus, which mutates just a little bit every year, is not particularly severe because our immune systems have already probably seen a similar flu virus and thus know how to fight it. It’s called native immunity or protection, and almost all of us have some degree of it.

Babies are more vulnerable because they haven’t been exposed to the seasonal flu and older people because their immune systems may not be functioning as well.

Pandemic flu is a different animal, and you should understand the difference.

Panˈdemik/: pan means “all”; demic (or demographic) means “people.” It is well-named, because pandemic flu spreads easily throughout the world. Unlike seasonal flu, pandemics occur when a completely new or novel virus emerges. This sort of virus can emerge directly from animal reservoirs or be the result of a dramatic series of mutations — so-called reassortment events — in previously circulating viruses.

In either case, the result is something mankind has never seen before: a pathogen that can spread easily from person to defenseless person, our immune systems never primed to launch any sort of defense.”

In our new release novel Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes), we have created a fictional scenario inspired by this microbiology and worked closely with a scientist who guided us on our medical sub-plot. Within a murder investigation in a university for the Deaf in London, England, a deadly flu virus (H7N7) outbreak occurs, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world.

In the sealed-off university, we then explore in detail a chaotic virus management story where not only does the virus continue to infect more Deaf students and claim more lives, but a serial killer remains at large and terrorizes those who manage to survive the deadly virus.

And just today, in an unusual coincidence that sounds all too similar to Silent Fear, news has broken out in the last few hours that four hospital wards in the Devon, England have been forced to close due to an outbreak of the norovirus.

Wards closed as outbreak of norovirus confirmed at North Devon District Hospital http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/wards-closed-outbreak-norovirus-confirmed-690373

13:26, 27 OCT 2017

ARTICLE EXCERPTS:

People are being asked not to visit the hospital if they have had, or been in contact with someone who has had, diarrhoea or vomiting in the last 48 hours, unless their visit is essential.

Four wards at North Devon District Hospital were forced to close due to an outbreak of the vomiting and diarrhoea bug norovirus.

Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust is asking people not to visit the hospital if they have had, or been in contact with someone who has had, diarrhoea or vomiting in the last 48 hours, unless their visit is essential.

Norovirus is a highly contagious gastro-intestinal virus, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting.

Following the spread of this virus in the North Devon community, there is an increase in patients being admitted to NDDH with norovirus.

There have been confirmed cases of norovirus at NDDH this week and four wards were closed to new admissions as a precautionary measure.

The Trust is asking people not to visit the hospital if they have had, or been in contact with someone who has had, diarrhoea or vomiting in the last 48 hours, unless their visit is essential.

When in hospital, people should keep their hands clean using soap and water or the gels provided, and encourage others to do the same.

———————–

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that can infect anyone. You can get it from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces.

As the October 31 launch date nears for the Kindle version of our new release crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes), a new paperback giveaway competition is underway on Goodreads.com – open to all Goodreads members worldwide.